A Girl Like Me
by dreamcloud1
Summary: Rosie is forced to spend her Christmas in Twinbrook, bound by her mother's military-style holiday plans. Madge's dad just left her and her family, and now she has to look forward to looking after her forgetful grandmother who doesn't even remember her name. When the two girls meet and form a plan to make each other's holiday better, who knows what will happen?
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys! I know it's been ages since I last wrote anything, but since Christmas is approaching, I decided to write a Sims 3 Christmas themed story. It's not really completely Sims 3 based, but does have elements of the game in it.**

**Anyway, enough with my rambling. Hope you enjoy!**

ROSIE

Just what exactly _happened_ to people during Christmas time?

Seriously, was this her mother's idea of an (extremely non-amusing) practical joke?

Rosie stared moodily out of the window of the spare bedroom at her aunt and uncle's house, watching the snow drift past her window. It wasn't her fault that her whole mad family – her mum, dad, and annoying nine-year old twin brothers Tim and Ben – had unanimously decided that, this Christmas, they ought to go somewhere FUN. And here they were, stuck in the middle of Twinbrook, with nobody else her age around, and with nothing to do.

How utterly fab.

Of course, they didn't ask Rosie's permission. In fact, a week ago, when Rosie was curled up on the sofa watching TV, her mother had drifted into the room and casually announced, "Darling, for Christmas this year, Aunt Minty and Uncle Bruce have invited us to Twinbrook. Won't that be lovely to spend time with them, and be in a different place for Christmas this year?"

Rosie glanced up at her mother, shocked. "What? We're not staying here?"

Her mother's smile faded. "Of course not. Your dad and I were very pleased to accept the invitation. It was very kind of them to invite us."

Rosie opened her mouth to protest, but knew better than to try and argue. Once her mum used _that_ tone of voice, it was the cue for her to shut up and accept the inevitable, thank you.

But…she liked it _here._ In Bridgeport, where her home and her friends were. They owned a modern, spacious house only a short drive away from the city, which was perfect for get-togethers with her friends. And at Christmas time, the place was simply magical. Shop windows would be lit up, showing mini displays of decorations, carousels and little toys, fascinating passers-by. The air would smell of freshly roasted hazelnuts, new wrapping paper and chocolate. Tinsel and holly were all over the place, not to mention the displays of large trees in the park and along the streets.

It was simple enough. Rosie liked it _here_.

So, this morning, they had packed the car and driven for an hour or so to get to Twinbrook. And now here they were, holed up in Minty and Bruce's house for several more days before Rosie could finally escape.

"Well, look who it is!" Her uncle's booming, cheery voice snapped Rosie out of her reviere. "Our little Ro-Ro is all grown up. Give us a hug, poppet."

Rosie made herself smile, and went to hug him. "Hello, Uncle Bruce."

"All settled in nicely?" Her uncle cast a glance around the plain room, brightened up by the vase of sunflowers on the desk and the purple and dilver duvet on the bed. "Your two brothers are wrecking havoc downstairs helping Minty make cookies." He chuckled and looked at her hopefully. "You want to give them a hand?"

_No, actually, I'd rather cut my fingers off with a pair of scissors, _she thought.

"Okay." She sighed, and followed her uncle downstairs into the kitchen.

MADGE

There was nothing worse than spending the whole of Christmas knowing full well that there was no danger of ever seeing your father again for the whole holiday.

Madge shut the lid of the living room computer and looked around the room, feeling ten times worse about the email that she was (thinking about) sending to her dad. What had started off as a, 'Dear Dad, hope you have a great Christmas' friendly email had quickly turned into a letter begging him to abandon his new girlfriend and come home.

As if that would ever happen.

A loud snuffling sound made Madge start. Her grandma, who passed most of her days sleeping peacefully in the old green and white armchair in the corner of the living room, sleepily opened her eyes.

"Oh hello, dear." Her grandma, a think woman with short white hair and a taste for knitted beige cardigans, slowly focused on Madge. "How long have I been asleep for?"

Madge brushed her long brown hair away from her face and checked her watch. "Since eleven. It's now half past twelve."

"Oh." The old woman considered this before smiling at Madge. "Amd what have you been doing?"

"Sending an email to my dad." Madge said, her voice quiet. _Even though I know he'd much rather spend time with his new family in Sunset-friggin'-Valley because they're so much nicer than we are,_ she added silently.

"Lovely." Her grandma paused for thought. "Who's gone mad?"

Madge sighed inwardly. Everyone who knew her grandmother could agree that she was hopelessly forgetful and extremely absent-minded. Though she loved her grandma dearly, she wished at the same time that her mother was around more often to help out. Madge's mum had spent most of the holidays working in the consignment store to earn enough Simoleons to support the three of them. The amount her dad sent through each month helped a little, but not much.

"I'll make some tea for you, Granny." Madge headed into the kitchen and waited for the kettle to boil. Though small, their house was warm and cosy, with a small fire crackled merrily away in the living room fireplace. In Madge's bedroom, it was pine flooring and colourful knitted blankets all round. Though she liked being in Twinbrook during the holidays, she wished that there was someone more her age to hang round with. All her friends had gone away with their families on holiday. No doubt that she, her mother and even her grandma might have gone somewhere too, had they been able to afford a holiday.

As she poured the tea, she caught sight of her mother's To Do list stuck on the pinboard. Teach art classes at the school, do the laundry…do the groceries. Oh for Watcher's sake. That was something that Madge constantly 'forgot' to do. She sighed. Better get it done before her mother came home.

"Granny? I made some tea for you." Her grandma's face lit up at the sight of the cup and saucer.

"Ooh, how lovely. Thank you, dear." She carefully took the tea from Madge and said no more, seeming to abruptly forget that she was in the room. Or even existed.

Madge watched her, feeling hollow. It wasn't her granny's fault that she had a very short-term memory, but Madge wished that she would remember her name every once in a while.

Trying to blink away the tears that were forming in her eyes, Madge grabbed the grocery list and accompanying $50 note from its usual space on the pinboard and stomped outside, slamming the door loudly behind her.

**Hope you enjoyed! Next chapter will be up very soon!**

**Also, I took a bit of inspiration from **_**The Princess and The Pauper**_** (the Barbie film version, in case you were wondering).**


	2. Chapter 2

**Next chapter is up…woo-hoo!**

ROSIE

"Give ME the cookie cutter!" Tim, reaching over, attempted to prise it from Ben's fingers.

"No! It's MINE!" Ben howled, hanging onto it for dear life. "It's my turn Tim, you've had long enough!"

"Hey boys, stop fighting!" Rosie's Aunt Minty clapped her flour-coated hands, which unfortunately went all over the place. "Tim, you come here and help me roll out the cookie dough. And Rosie, love, would you mind please passing me that bowl on the counter?"

Rosie tucked a loose strand of blonde hair behind her ear as she passed her aunt the bowl. "Where are Mum and Dad?"

" 'one 'or a walk." Ben answered, his mouth now full of cookie dough.

"Ben, don't talk with your mouth full." She pulled a face. "Anyway, where have they gone?

"I think they've gone for a walk around the neighbourhood." Aunt Minty replied, her head buried in the pantry. Suddenly, she let out a little cry. "Darn! I forgot to buy honey!"

Rosie rolled her eyes. No such luck of escaping her mother's (and now, presumably, her aunt's) dreaded Christmas regime this year. Of course, Rosie considered it to be more of a military-style event. The whole family was roped into preparing the Christmas lunch, even Tim and Ben were rostered onto pea-shelling duty. Her brothers were always the first ones to rip into their presents with cries of delight, completely oblivious to the way their mother flinched slightly at the raucousness of it all. After the food was served (ALWAYS around twelve-thirty), and after the march to and from the park (fortunately only a short distance away) guess who had to be the one to organize another family activity?

That's right. The tradition fell to none other than Rosie herself.

Her aunt straightened up. "Well, I guess I'll have to go and buy the–"

"No, it's all right!" Rosie tried not to sound pathetically eager. Anything to get away from here. "I'll go. I really don't mind."

Aunt Minty nodded, passing Rosie a $10 note. "Thanks, Rosie. Just walk down the road and turn right. It's on the corner."

"Okay. Thanks!" Grabbing the money and narrowly avoiding a ball of cookie dough to the head from Tim, Rosie grabbed her coat and legged it out the front door.

The shop wasn't busy when Rosie entered through the front door, a bell tinkling over her head to announce her arrival. She took a basket from the front of the shop and slowly made her way down the wooden aisle. Her footsteps made a muffled creaking noise as she scanned the shelves for jars of honey. Eventually, she found a lone jar, tucked away on a high shelf. She re-adjusted her grip on the basket, stretching up on her tiptoes to reach it, then–

"Ouch!"

Something hard collided with her side, causing her to lose her grip on the jar of honey. Rosie just managed to catch it before it smashed on the floor. Someone gasped.

"Oh gosh, I'm so sorry!"

Rosie straightened up, finding herself looking at a brown-haired girl of about her age, dressed in a brown coat and blue jeans. Her blue eyes were wide with concern. "Are you all right?"

Rosie shrugged, clutching the honey. "Yeah, I'm fine." She gestured towards the shelves. "Were you looking for something?"

"Is there any more honey?" The girl looked rather desperate, as if finding a jar of honey would solve all the world's problems. "It's so my mum can make her honey-glazed Christmas cake like she does every year, for my grandma and I. It's the highlight of my grandma's Christmas, so it's really important."

_Oh God, please don't tell me your life story,_ Rosie thought. She glanced up at the shelf beside her. "No sorry. Don't think there's any left."

It was something about the girl's despairing sigh that made Rosie look back at her again. Apart from her dark hair, she looked eerily similar to Rosie herself. Her clothes seemed a little worn, and she wore her hair long, but they had the same blue eyes and were about the same height.

"Fine," the girl muttered, almost to herself. She turned round and made her way to the shop counter, where an middle-aged man was standing. Not knowing why, Rosie followed her.

"Excuse me, sir," the girl enquired somewhat nervously, "is there going to be any more honey available soon?"

The man shook his head. "Sorry. We're practically sold out until after Christmas. Everyone harvests their own honey these days."

The girl let out another sigh. "Okay. Thank you." She turned around to gather her basket of groceries, and Rosie was shocked to see that her eyes were swimming with tears.

Before she knew what she was doing, Rosie pushed the jar of honey towards her. "Here."

The girl looked at her, an element of surprise flashing across her face. "For me?"

Rosie shrugged again, impatiently. "Who else would it be for?"

The first trace of a smile flickered across the girl's face. "Thanks."

Despite herself, Rosie couldn't help smiling back at her. "All good. Hey, I'm Rosie." She held out her hand.

The girl took it and shook. "Madge."

MADGE

"So, you're from Bridgeport? Wow." Madge paused for thought as the two of them sat on a bench outside, in an area sheltered by pinstriped banners. It had stopped snowing now, and after paying for their groceries, both girls had somehow found themselves sitting outside the grocery store, engaged in conversation. "That makes my life seem incredibly boring and dull."

Rosie grinned. "Yeah, but at least you're at home here. My parents dragged me kicking and screaming all the way here to spend Christmas with my aunt and uncle. My little brothers loved it, of course." She sighed. "Now I'm here for at least another week with the highlight of watching my brothers fighting while making cookies."

"Your Christmas sounds a whole lot better than mine." Madge gazed up into the sky, wondering what her dad would be doing right now. "My dad left us a few months ago for his new _girlfriend_." She spat the word out in disgust, imagining a petite, attractive blonde in gym gear fawning all over her dad. Yet at the same time, she couldn't help feeling a rush of sadness.

Rosie was watching her sympathetically. "Oh. Sorry. That sucks."

Madge ran her hand through her hair. "It's okay." _Although it really, really wasn't. _"And with my mother working full-time at the consignment store right up until Christmas, my job is to look after my grandma who spends most of her time asleep anyway."

Rosie didn't really know what to say to that. "Well…at least that makes your job a lot easier, right?"

Madge half-smiled. "Guess so. But despite everything, I wish that Mum was around more. My grandma doesn't even remember my name half the time."

"I think we can both agree," Rosie said, stretching her arms above her head, "that both our Christmasses officially suck."

The dark-haired girl nodded in agreement. "This holiday's going to feel so weird with just the three of us. With Dad gone, I don't know how Mum's going to handle it. One minute she'll be fine and the next minute she'll be crying in the kitchen. I wish I could do something to help but I never know what to do." Madge blinked her eyes rapidly to stop herself from crying in front of her new-found friend.

Rosie cast her mind around rapidly for a distraction. "Hey Madge, does your mum ever do military-style Christmas charts?"

Madge stared at her, confused, then let out a giggle. "What?"

"Organising rotas and suchlike for the big day. It drives us all mad." A few minutes later, Rosie had Madge in fits of laughter as she described the day's rigid routine; from opening the presents, to eating the Christmas food, to the ramble around the park in the afternoon. As she did so, she felt a little bit guilty. _Count yourself lucky that you're going to have a great Christmas with all your family, _she scolded herself. _Poor Madge isn't half as lucky._

Once Madge had finished her laughing fit, she checked her watch. "I'd better get going now, Mum'll probably be home soon and I have to get dinner ready." She got to her feet, clutching the grocery shopping bags with the jar of honey safely ensconced in her jacket pocket.

"Do you need a hand carrying anything?" Rosie glanced at the bulging carrier bags.

Madge shook her head. "No thanks, I'll be fine." She smiled at Rosie. "Thanks for giving me the honey and pretending to listen to me."

"You're welcome," Rosie replied, smiling back at her. "Hope your honey cake turns out all right. I'll tell my aunt that she can just use garlic instead."

Another giggle escaped Madge's mouth as she turned and waved goodbye to her new friend. "See ya, Rosie."

Madge made her way back down the hill, thinking about the past half-hour. It seemed that now, she at least had someone of her own age to hang out with; someone from the sleek town of Bridgeport, someone cool, and someone who understood the, erm, _downsides_ of Christmas.

Someone who also, weirdly, looked a lot like her.

Wasn't life _weird_ sometimes?

**Hmm…I have a little question for you guys. (I'm very sorry that I'm taking this approach to it, but) Team Rosie or Team Madge? XD**


	3. Chapter 3

**I'm back again! Hopefully you're still following along with me (or rather, the two girls). Christmas is fast approaching so I'll try and get the next part up as soon as I can, thoughts? Xx**

ROSIE

Thankfully, her aunt had been too distracted by the final outcome of the Christmas cookies to ask a) what had taken Rosie so long and b) why she hadn't come back with a jar of honey. By the time her parents had turned up at the house in the mid afternoon, they seemed to have many stories to tell about their walk ("We watched a deer skip across the park as if we weren't even there, can you believe it?) and Rosie was glad of an excuse to finally retire to her room before dinner so she could think about the day's events. Meeting Madge had to be pure fate, there was no doubt about it. And it sure was a nice thought to think she might actually have someone her own age to hang out with these holidays.

The next morning, once she was sure that nearly everyone else was up, she got dressed and headed into the kitchen. Her mother was sitting at the table reading a book and sipping a cup of coffee, and Tim and Ben were lolling on the sofa in the living room, watching cartoons.

"Good morning, Rose." Her mother smiled at her.

"Morning, Mum." Rosie returned the smile, got herself some leftover waffles from the fridge and sat at the table. "Where's everyone else?"

"Your father and Bruce are tinkering with old gadgets and things in the garage, and Minty's in the garden," her mother replied. "I'm going to take the boys out for a walk before I start making a list of ingredients and recipes for the big day." She looked at Rosie meaningfully. "Or, it would be a great help if you could take them for a walk."

Rosie opened her mouth, then shut it again, thinking about Madge.

_Count your blessings, Rosie, _she told herself.

"Sure. I'll do that." She pretended not to notice her mother's small sigh of relief, or the way she rubbed a hand across her face, seemingly exhausted.

"Thank you, darling. I have so much to do." Her mum took a small sip of coffee and turned a page of her book.

Rosie knew that she should just leave her in peace, but something still nagged at the back of her mind. "Mum…" She hesitated. "Why do you plan Christmas out so thoroughly?"

"Because that's just how it is." Her mother looked at her and shrugged. "If we didn't plan things out, nobody would end up doing anything. And that's part of it, being with your family and finding fun things to do."

Rosie, attempted to ignore that small voice inside her that was screaming, _WHY DON'T YOU JUST RELAX AND HAVE FUN LIKE ANY NORMAL PERSON? EVERYONE ELSE DOES AT CHRISTMAS, YOU KNOW. BUT NO, EVERYTHING IN OUR HOUSE HAS TO BE PLANNED RIGHT DOWN TO THE ITTY BITTY LAST DETAIL – OTHERWISE IT WON'T BE FUN, WILL IT? _

Instead, she persisted. "Mum, maybe you just need to, you know, take a break for once."

Her mother laughed. "Every Christmas is the same, sweetheart. I'm always frantic no matter what happens. When you were first born, we did just that, and had Christmas at our place. Your father forgot to keep an eye on the stove as the meal cooked." She flinched as she recalled the memory. "That gave all of us a scare, especially as you were still just very little. So now, it's just easier to plan things." A smile spread across her face as she looked at her daughter. "When you're eventually a mother, you'll understand."

Rosie nodded, as her mother turned her attention back to her book. She guessed that her mother had a point, but still. And all of a sudden, she made the decision that this year, she would do something about it.

Maybe Madge would have some good ideas.

"Come on, boys." Rosie headed in the direction of the living room, causing her brothers to look up her. "We're going for a walk."

The air outside was cool, but not too chilly. Rosie watched as Tim and Ben ran around the park, laughing and playing tag. _Oh, to be that young again,_ she thought. Her gaze moved from the boys to around the rest of the park. It was a big, wide open space with a few benches scattered round a small fish pond. Trees bordered the edge of the frozen grass. The park was pretty much empty, apart from an old couple walking slowly around the pond, and a figure in a grey coat, reading a book, seated on the nearest bench.

Rosie frowned. That coat looked familiar.

Wait. Pause.

Rosie glanced round at her brothers who were still happily running round, probably not even noticing if a fleet of aliens were to land right next to them. Then, she ventured casually over to where Madge was sitting.

MADGE

"Hey. Madge!"

Madge glanced up to see none other than Rosie standing in front of her. A broad smile lit up her face.

"Rosie! It's so good to see you again. I was wondering if I'd ever run into you again." She put the book down and gestured to the spot next to her. "Have a seat."

Rosie gratefully sat down. "Thanks. I'm looking after my little brothers for a bit while Mum sorts out Christmas menus and stuff." She rolled her eyes. "You'd think she's just chill out for once, but oh no, it's the exact opposite."

Madge giggled, then nodded wearily. "I'm taking over the Christmas food this year. My own mother's just so tired from working and looking after Granny that I said I'd do it." She shrugged, pretending not to mind too much. "No bother, really. I can cook all right."

She got the feeling that Rosie was thinking hard. About what, though, she had no idea, and didn't really want to have to think about it too much. Every once in a while, Madge herself came here _not_ to think. At all.

The elderly couple she'd seen strolling round the pond earlier now were walking down the path in front of them, giving the girls a nod hello. "Beautiful day, isn't it?"

Madge smiled at them. "Absolutely."

"It's going to be a good holiday as well," the man continued, his wife gently nudging him to hurry up and stop talking to strangers. Suddenly, he reached into his coat pocket and pulled out two candy canes. "My wife and I got these at the shop for free when we went in. The clerk told us to give them to two strangers to spread the holiday spirit." He handed them to Rosie. "One for you, and one for your sister."

"Thank you." Madge smiled at them again as they went on their way, though at the same time, she wanted to giggle. _Accepting sweets from an old man who isn't even Father Christmas. Really?_

"Thanks, but she's not my sis–" Rosie broke off, her expression changing as she pondered the old man's words, silent for a moment.

Suddenly, she looked at Madge, her eyes widening as the beginnings of an idea flickered across her face. Madge looked at her, confused.

"What?"

Rosie shook her head, unable to get any words out, and instead bounced up and down in her seat. Finally, in a hushed, reverent voice, she spoke. "I have an idea."

"You don't say?" Madge replied, both slightly annoyed and amused. "Well, what is it?"

Rosie checked her watch, appeared shocked at the time, and stood up. "Look, Madge, I have to bring my brothers back home before Mum reports them missing, but I'll tell you really soon, promise!"

Madge stood up. "If you come to my house this afternoon, will you tell me then?"

Rosie beamed and nodded. "Course I will. Say two this afternoon?"

Madge barely even had time to say goodbye, before Rosie vanished from the park, taking the two little boys with her. But in a way, even though she was hasty, unpredictable and at times jumping from one thing to the other, Madge had to admit that that was exactly what she liked about her.

Granny hadn't actually managed to go to sleep for a few hours, which made a rather nice change. As Madge made sure she was comfortable with a hot cup of tea, the old woman chatted merrily away to her about things that Madge couldn't make head or tail of. Occasionally, she broke out into little verses of songs, and sometimes she'd utter random sentences, always starting, but never finishing.

"And so I said to him, I said, Otis, what are you doing with that teapot?" Granny giggled, clutching the handle of her cup of tea. "The old fool didn't take any notice!"

"Careful, Granny, don't spill your tea." Madge took the cup gently from her and set it down on the table next to her.

"Tea… teapot." Granny pointed to the cup and nodded. "I'm a little teapot, short and stout. A lovely song."

Madge vaguely remembered that song from her preschool days, but before she could do anything else, a knock sounded on the door. As she pulled it open, she found Rosie standing on the doorstep, beaming at her.

"Well, I got the right address, didn't I?" she asked, stepping into the kitchen. Madge watched her anxiously as her friend took in the clean but slightly shabby room. Luckily, it was nice and warm.

"Come and meet Granny." Madge was anxious to hear what Rosie's plan was, but first things first. She led the way into the living room to where her grandma was seated. "Granny? This is my friend, Rosie."

Her grandma peered at Rosie short-sightedly. "Honey, why are there two of you?" She frowned slightly, her confused mind trying to see through the fog. "I was sure I was just talking to you before, and yet here you are."

"It's lovely to meet you, erm, Madge's granny." Rosie smiled at her, though for some reason, Madge saw a look of elation pass over her face.

"I'll take you to my room and you can tell me your secret." Madge said, turning to walk into the hallway, with Rosie following along after her. "I'll come and check on you later, Granny."

A faint wheeze told her that her grandma was rapidly falling asleep again.

**Who thinks they can figure out what Rosie's plan is? I know what it is, hehe. But I'm not going to tell you just yet. So you'll just have to wait….until the next chapter!**


	4. Chapter 4

**So, as promised, here is the latest installment of **_**A Girl Like Me**_**. Am hoping that since it's Christmas Eve tomorrow, the next part will be up then (and that's when the plan rolls into action….!) Reviews are always welcome **

ROSIE:

"Please tell me that you're joking."

Rosie frowned. This was possibly the best idea she had ever come up with, and right now her friend wasn't being very supportive.

"I'm absolutely not joking. This is my plan." She stared at Madge with a serious face.

Madge could barely get her head around the whole concept. "You really think that crashing each other's Christmasses is the best way to go? Both our families are going to see through that in five seconds flat."

"I wouldn't consider it crashing each other's Christmasses, it's merely…" Rosie considered. "Borrowing them for a bit."

"So while you spend time with my mother and Granny, I'm going to be, what? Madly thinking up military-style activities for your family to participate in?" Madge asked, her eyebrows raised.

"But think about it!" Rosie persisted. "We physically look exactly the same, and if we each dyed our hair a different colour, nobody would know. Mentally though, it's a different story. If we did something to make each other's Christmasses better using what we've got, it could make both our holidays better!" She glanced at Madge, half expecting her to get up and walk out of the room.

To her surprise, however, Madge appeared to be thinking.

"If you got my mother and Granny to cheer up and forget their problems for once, then I could make your family do away with their over-planning." Madge said slowly. "The only thing we'd have to do is dye our hair and learn to act a bit like each other."

"Which will be really easy." Rosie insisted. "Once we fool our parents into thinking that we're each other–"

"If." Madge muttered.

"–then it'll be straight forward from then on in. What do you think?" She looked eagerly at Madge.

Madge unwillingly heaved a deep sigh in resignation. "Fine. I'm in." A slow smile appeared across her face. "Are you sure you know how to cook?

As a couple more days wore on, Rosie tried hard to act as if everything was normal. Mercifully, nobody around the house seemed to notice. She played catch with her brothers in the garden after much persistent tugging and pleading from them, and even helped her mum wrap up the presents for her little brothers after they had gone to bed. Even when she had a spare moment, reading in her room or going for leisurely walks down the road, she found her thoughts straying to Madge and the plan. Would they even be able to pull it off? What had seemed like such a great idea earlier now seemed crazy. Problem was, she couldn't pull out of it now.

"You seem preoccupied, Rose. Simoleon for your thoughts?" Rosie was interrupted by the sound of her father's voice behind her. Straightening up from her position beside the mailbox where she was checking the mail, she turned around. Her father's face smiling down at her.

"Nothing's wrong, Dad. I'm just a bit…" She let her voice tail off.

"Preoccupied?" Her father nodded. "We all have those days. It's round about now that I find myself relishing the time I have alone, particularly with the big day approaching and with your mother and aunt busy. I find it's better just to stay out of the way."

Rosie hesitated. "Dad, have you ever tried to talk some sense into Mum? I mean, it's lovely that she's working hard to make it special, but all this obsession with Christmas is just crazy."

Her dad seemed to mull over what she had just said. "I know, love. Sometimes even I struggle to think where she's coming from. But to a mother, any event that puts her child's life in danger, even for a second, is one that is unforgettable. Especially because she blamed me afterwards for 'not thinking straight' and for not watching the pot on the stove. Luckily the fire department arrived and the fire wasn't too damaging, but it gave us all a scare." He sighed. "After that, she was always planning things out thoroughly, making sure that

Leaning forward, Rosie gave him a hug. "Don't worry, Dad. Maybe this Christmas will be different."

Her father returned the hug, with a slightly sad smile. "I hope so, Rosie. I hope so."

MADGE

"I don't know if I can do this."

"Madge, you'll be fine. This is nothing compared to what's going to follow."

Madge turned from side to side, surveying her reflection in the mirror of Drea's Salon, trying to imagine herself with blonde hair. Rosie however, having dyed her hair a few times before, was less concerned. "This is so weird."

Rosie nodded. "I know. But it's only temporary. If you don't like it, you can dye it back right after Christmas."

The two girls had spent the last few days, between doing chores and helping out their families, working on the final stage of their plan before it was properly put into action. They had spent their time mainly round at Madge's house learning to basically act and talk like one another. Though this arrangement worked well, due to Madge's mother being out at work (though she was due to arrive home slightly earlier on this day in particular) and Granny fast asleep in the armchair, it hadn't always been plain sailing.

"Madge, you're being too kind!" Rosie had vigorously shaken her head in frustration. "If my brothers came into my room at six o' clock in the morning, I wouldn't offer to read them a story, I'd yell at them to get the hell out of there!"

"But Rosie, it's Christmas!" Madge had rolled her eyes at her friend. "Surely they deserve a little bit of love from their sister?"

Rosie had made a noise of disgust. "Eurgh. No."

"And do you really think that I'd offer my mum a drink to help her 'loosen up'?" Madge retorted. "That's the worst idea ever! If anything, I might at least offer her a helping hand to prepare the food and everything, as well as look after Granny, you know!"

And now, today was Christmas Eve. Today was the day that they would completely exchange identities and hope for Watcher's sake that everything turned out as well as it could.

At least it was only temporary. Though Rosie didn't seem worried about this whole plan at all, Madge knew for certain that she wasn't keen on being a Rosie look-alike forever. "I know."

"Ready, girls?" The hairdresser, a curvy woman dressed in black with silver hoops stuck in her ears and short purple hair looked at them expectantly. "I'll do both of you at the same time. So it's thirty Simoleons for each of you, right?"

Madge gulped. Thirty Simoleons, to her, was a lot of money. Did she even have that much?

No.

"Um, Rosie?" Madge quietly edged over to her friend, her cheeks becoming pink. "I, um, don't think I can do this."

"Madge, you agreed to this." She could tell that Rosie was feeling impatient. "I haven't dragged you all this way here for nothing."

"It's not that." Madge wished the ground would swallow her up. She hated feeling like this. She got by, just, but it was hard sometimes missing out on things just because she didn't have enough money. "It's just, um, I–" She finished the rest of her sentence in a rushed whisper. "I didn't realize how much this would cost."

Rosie stared at her, her face softening. "Madge, it's fine. I'll pay."

"But–" Madge tried to protest, feeling useless and stupid. _Charity_.

"This whole thing was my idea, so it's only fair that I pay for this." Rosie reached into her coat pocket and pulled out a few banknotes. "I'm the one who got you into this mess." She smiled at the hairdresser, who had been tactfully trying to ignore this exchange. "We're good to go."

"Great! Follow me, please." The woman turned around and made for the door to the salon, and Madge, with a nudge from Rosie, had little choice but to follow her.

The resemblance was uncanny.

Well, they didn't look _exactly_ like each other, but very nearly.

Madge's eyes widened as she stared at herself in the mirror, fingering her newly-dyed blonde hair, the same colour as Rosie's had been. Beside her, Rosie ran a hand through her now-brunette hair, marveling at how different she looked. True, there were slight differences. Madge was a tiny bit shorter than Rosie, and had eyes that were a slightly deeper blue, but apart from that, they practically looked like twins.

"My mother would flip if she saw me like this." Rosie admitted, but unable to wipe the grin off her face. "Though it's all for a good cause."

Madge took a deep breath, and for the first time, felt a flicker of hope. Maybe, just _maybe_, this plan was going to succeed.

"So, it looks like this is it." Rosie said seriously.

Madge tried to quell the faint trembling in her hands. "We swap clothes, then go to each other's houses and hope that nobody can tell we've swapped identities."

Rosie nodded, looking at her friend. "So…I guess that this it it, then, until tomorrow evening."

Madge swallowed. "All right." Without warning, she leaned forward and hugged Rosie. "Good luck."

"Good luck, Madge."

**Any thoughts or ideas about what you think might happen next? Hopefully it doesn't end up a total and utter disaster, but then again, you never know...**


	5. Chapter 5

**Merry Christmas, one and all! Did you all have a good day? I certainly did. Since it's Christmas Day, here's the first part of The Plan, all told at this stage from one perspective (Rosie's) before I'll do the same for Madge next chapter. I thought it would be easier to do rather than switch from one to the other so quickly.**

ROSIE

Rosie stood in front of Madge's front door, her friend's dark grey coat covering her frame, protection from the drifting snow that was rapidly settling at her feet. Briefly, she deliberated whether to knock, but then knew that that would look extremely weird in front of Madge's mum and her granny.

Hmm. What to do now was the main question.

"Madge? Is that you?" A woman's voice called from inside the kitchen, Rosie guessing automatically that this was Madge's mother. Hesitantly, she opened the door and stepped inside, immediately welcoming the blast of warm air. Smells of home baking and mint drifted through the air, and there stood Madge's mother dressed in a pink apron, standing beside the kitchen table, smiling at Rosie. She was slightly taller and curvier, and had a welcoming, lined face with dark hair falling messily out of a bun.

"Darling! How are you?" The woman hurried around the table to hug who she thought was her daughter, and Rosie instinctively hugged her back. "I'm so sorry that I've barely seen you these past few days, but, well–you know. We've managed." She gave a sniff, then smiled. "I've almost forgotten what you've looked like!"

Rosie held her breath as Madge's mother now looked at her properly. For an instant, she thought that the woman's eyes narrowed slightly, as if she could tell this wasn't Madge–then she smiled at her again. "Thank you so much for looking after dear old Granny these past few days, and for getting the groceries. Ready to help me cook tomorrow?"

"You're welcome. I mean, thanks Mum." Rosie desperately tried to make herself sound like Madge, which fortunately wasn't too hard. "And helping to cook is what I'm here for, right?"

Madge's mother laughed, turning back to the kitchen counter. "Of course, darling. This Christmas will be hard in more ways than one, since your father left. But at least we've got each other." She gazed out the window, and her voice trembled slightly.

Rosie felt a lump in her throat. She remembered only too well how she had moaned and complained about being forced to spend the holiday in Twinbrook with, who? Her family, who she sometimes found annoying, but who she really did love. Even Tim and Ben could be angels when they wanted to.

"I'll just, erm, quickly go up to my room." Rosie muttered, and she quickly made her exit.

Upstairs, alone in Madge's wooden bedroom, she sat on the bed and fingered the wobbly patchwork squares on the blanket. Pulling this off was going to be a lot harder than she'd originally thought. Now that she was actually in Madge's house, imposing as Madge herself, the reality of the situation began to sink in. She had a whole twenty four hours to make sure that Madge's mum and Granny had a great Christmas and for once, forgot their problems.

And yes, she did have the beginnings on an idea forming in her mind. But would it be enough?

"Madge! Dinner's ready!" The sound of Madge's mother's voice broke Rosie out of her thought process.

Still, at least nobody had questioned her physical appearance yet. That was definitely a start.

With an effort, Rosie straightened herself up and formed a smile on her face. "Coming, Mum!"

Rosie's eyes snapped open, having woken from a dream that involved a mysterious pink rabbit-like soft toy transforming into an enormous Santa. She glanced at the clock on the bedside table. Seven forty-five.

It was Christmas Day already. Wow.

Time to get herself up and moving, if she wanted this day to succeed. Hopefully, without a hitch.

Cautiously, Rosie made her way down the stairs, donning Madge's blue fluffy dressing gown as she did so. She turned the door to the living room slowly–then jumped with fright as she saw Madge's grandmother standing quietly in front of the stereo. Rosie's gasp of fright made the old woman look up.

"Oh, sorry, Granny. I was just–" Rosie floundered.

When the old woman next spoke, her voice was hushed. "So many carols. So many notes. If you listen hard enough, you can always hear them."

Rosie remained silent, listening to Granny carry on. "I couldn't remember when I last heard one. But now, I hear them all the time. They are inside my head, they dance around me, they are everywhere. Do you see?" She looked at Rosie expectantly.

All of a sudden, Rosie felt a wave of sadness, mixed with affection, for the old woman. She wondered if Granny knew that the stereo wasn't even on. Probably not. Did she even remember her own name anymore?

Yet at the same time, Granny's words had caused an idea to form inside Rosie's head. _So many carols…so many notes…they are everywhere._

"I'll get you a cup of tea, Granny." Rosie gently helped the old woman into the armchair and walked into the kitchen, thoughts buzzing round in her head. She had an idea. A good one.

"Merry Christmas, darling! Did you sleep well?" Madge's mother enveloped her into a hug, which Rosie returned.

"I sure did, Mum." The word 'Mum' felt strange in Rosie's mouth, addressing someone who wasn't her mother. "I'll make you a cup of tea."

"That would be lovely." Her mother smiled, yet looked sad. "I'm so sorry that we're not doing presents this year, but you know how things are." Blinking hasily, she attempted a smile. "Anyway, we've still got our lovely Christmas feast to look forward to."

"You'll be glad that I got the last jar of honey at the shop then for the honey cake." Rosie said, steering the conversation out of dangerous waters. "It was the last one left on the shelf." _That part was true, at least._

Her mother looked at her curiously. "I thought you said that someone gave it to you?"

Oh help. What exactly had Madge told her mother about this sort of thing?

"I mean," Rosie went on hurriedly. "The shop keeper gave it to me. He helped me reach it off the shelf." A pause.

Luckily, Madge's mother didn't ask any further questions. Instead, she made her way towards the living room to where Granny was happily sipping a cup of tea, giving Rosie an affectionate pat on the head as she did so. "Right. Let's have breakfast, get dressed and start on the cooking, shall we?"

Rosie nodded, allowing one small thought to drift into her head.

_I wonder what Madge is doing right now?_

**Merry Christmas, one and all!**

**Xx**


	6. Chapter 6

**All right everyone, here's the next chapter. Enjoy! **

MADGE

Taking a deep breath, Madge carefully opened the front door to Rosie's house, her heart beating fast with nerves. Rosie's red fleecy sweatshirt suddenly seemed to fit and look all wrong on her. If Rosie's parents took one look at her and knew that this wasn't their daughter, then all their hard work would have been for nothing.

But still, Madge herself had a plan of her own. And she wasn't admitting defeat until she'd seen it through.

"Where have you been, Rosie?" The voice of one of Rosie's younger brothers made Madge jump with fright. She turned to see him staring at her, hands in his pockets.

"I just went for a walk." Madge tried to sound casual. _Which brother was which? _F**k.She was too concerned about her own identity to remember. "People do that, you know."

"But you said to Ben and I that you'd take us out to play catch." So this must be Tim, then. "You _promised._" His voice sounded a tad on the whiny side, but mainly, Madge thought, he sounded sad.

"How about I take you both to play outside after dinner?" Madge suggested, noticing his eyes brighten at the thought. "It'll be fun, won't it?"

"Okay." Tim jumped up and down, then suddenly looked at her suspiciously. "You look weird."

_Gulp._ Madge tried hard not to react. "What do you mean, weird?" she said, in as bright a voice as she could muster.

Tim shrugged indifferently. "I don't know, exactly. I mean, you look the same, but…" His voice tailed off.

"Well, bet I don't look as weird as you." She lunged playfully at him, tickling him until he finally collapsed on the floor is a fit of helpless giggles.

"Dinner's on the table!" a voice called. Madge looked up to see Rosie's Uncle Bruce standing in the doorway to the kitchen, grinning at the pair of them.

"Rosie, where have you been? I was beginning to think you'd run away and left us forever."

Madge made herself smile back as she got to her feet and headed into the kitchen. "Luckily, since it's Christmas Eve, I thought I'd better come here instead."

Truer words could have never been spoken.

All through dinner, Madge was as nervous as a turkey on Thanksgiving. She tried to make what (little) conversation she could, keeping up appearances the whole time. Try as she might, she couldn't stop herself from gazing around the modern, spacious kitchen in awe. And Rosie's family were just so _loud_ compared to hers. The two boys were fighting over some trivial thing; Uncle Bruce and Rosie's father were talking about the latest Llamas football win, and Rosie's mother was composing a detailed list out loud of all the things that were to happen tomorrow; the afternoon walk almost perfectly planned out. Madge listened carefully.

"So, after the turkey has been done, that's when we'll eat." Madge noticed that Rosie's mother's smile appeared forced, her eyes tired. "Then, a little refreshing walk, and Rosie can think up an activity for us all to do afterwards, right dear?"

Madge jumped as she met her gaze. "Oh. Um, yes. Absolutely." She nodded, praying that nobody would notice that she wasn't Rosie.

"Which reminds me, where have you been disappearing to these past few days?" Aunt Minty paused to glance at her, concerned. "You've been very secretive."

Madge jumped as she realized the whole table was looking at her, waiting for an answer. "Erm, I've just been out. Going for walks and stuff, and doing some last-minute shopping. And…other stuff." She faltered, her hands shaking with nerves.

"Ah." Aunt Minty winked at her. "Catching up with your friends back home, I think?"

"Yes, that's right." Madge took a bite of her salad, breathing a mental sigh of relief when she wasn't asked any more questions. It seemed like she was acting the part just fine.

By the time she was able to escape to Rosie's bedroom, she knew what to do. She had a plan, and was determined to make it work.

Christmas Day started off with what Madge suspected was the usual racket. Once everyone had forced themselves out of bed and into the living room, Tim and Ben started ripping into their presents with loud cries of excitement. Madge noticed that Rosie's mother wore a smile, yet it seemed slightly forced. She almost seemed to wince at every exclamation and tear of the wrapping paper, as if she couldn't physically bear it.

_Why would anyone want to celebrate Christmas in this way?_ Madge wondered.

"Rose? Aren't you going to open your presents?" Rosie's father was looking at Madge in a happy, yet confused sort of way.

Madge swallowed. She knew it would feel just too weird opening presents that weren't for her. Technically, if this had been an 'ordinary' Christmas, she still would have been doing the 'no present this year' thing anyway. Oh, the irony.

"I'll just let the boys have their fun now, and open mine later." Madge said quietly, with a knowing glance at Tim and Ben, who were overjoyed at the indoor hopscotch mat they had just unwrapped. She smiled as best she could at Madge's father.

"Okay then." He grinned back at her. "It is Christmas, after all."

Was it Madge's imagination, or was Rosie's mother's gaze flickering towards her more often than usual?

The Christmas dinner went without a hitch. Madge had managed to keep her mouth shut while the vegetable preparations were taking place, the ham and turkey safely ensconced in the oven. However, at one point, when shelling peas, Madge was able to get Tim and Ben involved in a game of 'Talking Vegetables', where she would hold up the pea pods and invent the things that they would say as they were getting podded. The sight of the two of them howling with laughter made Madge smile, yet at the same time, she felt a tug of sadness. Her dad used to do the exact same thing with her. And now, playing the same game with Rosie's brothers made her heart ache.

Still, all this carefully prepared food was delicious. Madge didn't know how long it had been since she'd eaten this much (apart from last Christmas).

"Right," Rosie's dad cleared his throat to speak. "As you all know, it's Christmas. And we all have a lot to be happy about. So, as we do every Christmas, I'd like us to all go around the table and say one thing that each of us are happy about. I'd like to say that I'm happy about having such a wonderful family to spend the holiday with, and that we're very fortunate in a number of ways." He beamed, and nodded at Madge to continue.

Madge felt her mouth grow dry. It was now or never.

"I have a lot of things that I'm happy for," she began, aware that every eye was upon her. "But for the thing I'm going to tell you about, it comes in the form of a story."

As Rosie's mother opened her mouth, presumably to hurry her along or shut her up, Aunt Minty shook her head at her. "Carry on, Rosie." Everyone was listening intently, even Tim and Ben.

Madge opened her mouth and let the words spill out.

**Sooo…the next chapter will be the last one! Hope you guys all liked this chapter (even though it was a bit longer than Rosie's, but there was so much more detail I had to sort of fill in). Don't worry, I'll make it up to you soon!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Sooo…the last chapter! I really hope you've enjoyed reading this Christmassy story as much as I've enjoyed writing it! **

ROSIE

In a strange sort of way, Rosie found herself having fun doing the cooking. She and Madge's mother worked hard for a couple of hours, making sure that the turkey was stuffed properly, the table was laid, and in particular, that the honey cake was made to Madge's Granny's satisfaction. She tried her best to keep the atmosphere positive, filled with happy chatter about whatever came into her head. Hopefully this would keep Madge's mother from thinking about the burdens that had been placed on the shoulders of her and Madge. Granny seemed blissfully unaware, and was happy enough rocking slowly back and forth in the chair in front of the fire. Plus, with the fire going and warming the house, it was really very cosy inside.

Rosie shut the door of the oven, brushing a strand of dark hair away. "Well, it looks like the turkey's nearly done."

Though Madge's mother smiled, it didn't reach her eyes. "That's good." She stared out of the window. "Have you spoken to your father yet?"

Rosie swallowed. "Erm, no, not yet." She shook her head.

The older woman sighed. "He could at least have phoned his own daughter to wish her a Happy Christmas, instead of resorting to email like usual."

"Maybe he'll phone us all later." Rosie tried to sound as optimistic as she could, but inside, she was feeling extremely uncomfortable. This had nothing to do with her, this was the business of Madge's family. Yet, still, it had been her idea. And she had made Madge be a part of it, even against her will.

"You know, I can't understand how he could just take off on us like that." Madge's mother shook her head. "At least he still has the decency to send money to us every month, even if it doesn't really help that much. But what hurts me the most is that he doesn't even seem to care too much about hurting his beautiful, intelligent wonderful daughter, and to just _ignore_ the emails she sends him about wanting him to come home." Her voice cracked, and for a horrible moment, Rose thought that she was going to cry.

_Right. That does it._ A sudden grip of determination seized Rosie. She was going to make Madge's mother and granny have the best Christmas they could ever have in such a rough situation, even if it killed her.

"Mum." The words felt weird in Rosie's mouth. "I know it's been a rough time for all of us. But it's Christmas. This is the time where we try and move on as best we can, and instead celebrate the fact that we've got each other. That's the most important thing, right?"

Madge's mother stared at her, a smile making its way across her face. "I'm so lucky to have a daughter like you, darling." She gave Rosie a quick half-hug. "Now, I'll start getting the rest of the dishes together while you help Granny to the table."

_Not your daughter,_ Rosie thought guiltily, making her escape. Hopefully she could make it through the rest of the day without either Madge or her granny noticing that she wasn't actually Madge. Fingers crossed.

"I do like a nice dinner." Granny pushed a roast potato around her plate with her fork and giggled. "Everything tastes so much better when you're hungry, my mother used to say."

"That's just where you're right, Granny." Rosie felt very affectionate towards the old woman. True, she wasn't the sharpest tool in the box, but she was really a lovely, if forgetful, lady. "You know what, I've got an idea about something nice for us all to do this afternoon."

"Like what, Madge?" Madge's mother looked up at her from the table. "Shall we all play a board game?"

"Ooh!" Granny's voice rose in excitement. "Like Simopoly, you mean?"

"Actually," Rosie smiled, "I've got a better idea."

MADGE

"Once upon a time, there was a young girl who lived with her mother, father and granny in the town of Twinbrook." Madge began nervously, aware that all eyes were upon her. "Though they didn't have a lot of money, they were happy. Even though the girl's granny had a very forgetful memory, on the weekends, they would all do fun things together as a family, like camping, or catching fish. Then, everything started to change when the granny's memory got worse. On some days she was fine. But on other days, she would stare into space without really knowing what was going on. Sometimes she couldn't even remember the name of her own granddaughter."

Madge felt tears starting in her eyes, but carried on as best she could.

"Then one day, the girl's father left them for his new girlfriend. The girl and her mother tried to carry on as best they could, with the girl balancing school with taking care of her grandma, and her mother working as hard as she could to support the three of them. Though the girl pretended that everything was fine, inside she wanted to run away from it all. But she couldn't."

The whole table was so silent that you could hear a pin drop. Tim and Ben were watching her solemnly, mouths slightly open.

"Then one day, just days before Christmas, the girl went to the grocery store to buy the groceries for Christmas." Madge went on, recalling the memory. "The most important grocery item was a jar of honey, needed to make her granny's favourite honey cake. She thought that if she did, it would make everything at least seem all right again. But when she went to get the honey, there was only one jar left on the shelf."

Madge was filled with a rush of nostalgia as she remembered the moment she and Rosie had first met. How, despite everything, she had pretended not to care, and how Rosie had handed her that last jar of honey, even though she had probably needed it for herself. As she spoke on, telling the rest of the story, with some of the details easily edited, she could only think of how lucky she was.

"So, I guess that what I'm trying to say is that I'm happy for the fact that I have a family who loves and cares about me," she finished. "And I'm happy for the fact that I'm a lot more fortunate than most. It's always better to let Fate step in and lend a hand with things, because really, anything could happen. And that's what I'm the most thankful for." Trembling, but with relief, she let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding.

"Well." Rosie's father seemed a bit taken aback. "That was certainly an, erm, inspiring story."

"Now Rosie, wait a minute." Rosie's mother held up a hand. "Though that's a lovely story" –here she gave Madge a proper smile – "it didn't really have anything to do with you, did it?"

"Well, yes it did, in a way, because, erm–" Madge tried to speak and grew flustered.

"Shall we move on?" Rosie's dad asked, already looking towards Ben. "I'm sure everyone's got a story to share."

"Wait!" Madge interjected, forcibly, yet a bit shaken. "I told you that story because I, I mean, Rosie–"

"Rose, what's wrong?" Uncle Bruce piped up, looking worried. "Are you all right?"

Madge sucked in a deep breath. _It had to be done._

"I'm not Rosie."

Her voice came out in a near whisper, yet reduced the whole of the table to silence.

"You're–_what?_" Rosie's mother looked utterly shocked.

"I'm so sorry." The words came out of Madge in a rush. "What I said in the story was true. I mean, I was, I _am_ that girl, and Rosie was the one who gave me the honey. We look so much alike that people thought we were sisters."

Aunt Minty was shaking her head in disbelief, yet Madge swore she saw something like a twinkle in the woman's eye.

"So, love, who exactly are you?" she asked in a concerned manner.

"I'm Madge," Madge replied, in a shaky voice. "Rosie and I agreed to swap Christmasses because we decided it would be a way to make our holidays better. If she cheered my mother and granny up, and made them forget their problems just for once, then I'd come over here and make your Christmas routine less, well, _forced._" To her horror, she felt a tear slipping down her cheek. "I tried my best to make sure that you all wouldn't know it was me. But it doesn't matter now. Everything's ruined." She sniffed, and wiped her eyes with her hand.

Rosie's mother sat stock still for about ten seconds, gazing at Madge with her hand over her mouth. Suddenly, she sat up.

"Rosie was right." She said this quietly, as if it was something she'd only just realized. "And you were right."

Rosie's father looked at her as if she was crazy. "Darling, what are you talking about?"

"It's all been my fault." Her voice became more determined now. "I've been so caught up with my own ideas about how the holiday should be run, that I've forgotten the way it should _feel_. And with what Madge has said just now, I think she has a point. It's time for us all to just relax and be thankful for what we do have." She glanced at Madge, and gave her a slight smile. "It's just a pity that it's taken the two of you to help me realize it. But for that, thank you."

"So, what do we do now?" Tim asked, already bored with this sudden turn of events. "Are you still going to take us to play ball in the park?"

Madge laughed, and it was as if the spell of tension around the table had been broken.

"How about we all go down to the park?" She winked at Aunt Minty. "I have a family activity that I think we would all enjoy."

As the voices of carol singers filled the air, Rosie turned around to see Madge, grinning, making her way towards them hurriedly, most of her own family in tow. As soon as she reached her, Rosie hugged her friend tightly, both of them laughing.

"So it looks like the plan worked." Madge stated, staring around at the snow-covered park, just meters away from where they had met a few days ago and been mistaken for sisters. "Thanks for calling me to let me know you were here."

"I think that my side of the plan worked too, don't you?" Rosie glanced over to where Granny was now standing, awestruck and joyful at the row of carol singers, and where Madge's mum was now chatting away to Rosie's family."Once your mum got over the shock of me telling her that I wasn't actually you, she seemed all right with it."

Madge nodded, and was about to launch into her side of the story at Rosie's, when she was interrupted by Aunt Minty and Uncle Bruce heading towards them, from the other side of the park.

"Well, what a happening!" Aunt Minty shook her head, but winked at them. "You two girls pulled off a seemingly ridiculous, but at the same time, very smart plan. Madge, your mum told me just before that she's having a really great Christmas. Even though you weren't exactly there for it."

Madge giggled, then noticed Rosie, her aunt and uncle sharing a secretive look.

"What?"

"it's not charity or anything, really." Rosie turned to face her friend. "The truth is, I, um, already told these two about part of our plan."

"What?" Madge couldn't keep the shock out of her voice. "You told them?"

"No, but listen." Rosie continued. "When you get back home, you'll find a surprise waiting for you." _In the form of a Christmas tree and a few presents we chose for you all ourselves,_ she added silently. "Oh, and one more thing."

Madge felt her jaw drop as Rosie pressed a wad of Simoleons into her hand. One, two, three–

That was at least eight hundred dollars right there.

"Rosie, I–" Made tried to speak, but nothing came out.

"We all chipped in." Rosie went on, all three of them beaming at Madge. "Well, us three. The money is for you, your mum and Granny to get yourselves out of Twinbrook for a week and go somewhere nice for a holiday. Watcher knows, you deserve it." She grinned.

Madge flung her arms around her friend, trying hard not to do something stupid, like burst out crying. How she deserved a friend like Rosie, she'd never know.

"Look!" Granny shuffled up to them, doing a movement like a little dance. "So many notes, listen to them ring out! Beautiful things, they are." Slowly, she focused on Madge, her mouth twitching into a smile. "Dear Madge. So happy."

_She remembered my name._

Right then and there, Madge couldn't think of any better present she'd rather receive.

"Happy Christmas, Granny."

And as she and Rosie stood in the snowy park, as the carol singers sang on, and the snow drifted down like white confetti, Madge felt the tiniest wave of hope tug at her.

Somehow this year, she knew, everything would turn out all right.

**Well there you go! I wrote the last part of this story in a tiny bit of a rush as I'm going on holiday OS tomorrow and I wanted it done before the new year, but hope that you liked it all the same. Feel free to leave a review if you like, and have a wonderful, safe rest of your holiday. I love you all!**


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